But he didn't break his oath. He served the Nights Watch until his death.

Quote:

Spoiler:

I suppose Bran's role now is to a) tell Jon who he is, and b) tell people how to destroy the White Walkers.

I'm not sure what purpose Sam even serves in the story now. They've let his storyline lag so far behind everything else, he hasn't even gotten through the book 4 material.

Spoiler:

My guess is that Bran will tell Jon the truth about his parents, and will lead the fight against the White Walkers (if he ever learns to fly). But something will go wrong and he will die in the attempt, maybe. Then, Sam will find something in the library that tells everyone how to defeat the White Walkers for good.

She assumed the 'younger and more beautiful queen' was Margaery, but it could refer to Daenerys - or even someone else, but Daenerys seems the most likely.

Spoiler:

Of COURSE it does. (And I still wish for Tyrion that she marries him.)

Sorus wrote:

Spoiler:

It's always been assumed that valonqar (brother) referred to Tyrion, but what if it's Jaime? Considering Cersei went and did what he killed Aerys to prevent...

Spoiler:

I really want it to be Jaime, there are so many dramatic angles to that: being inescapably the King[Queen]slayer, being the jilted lover, redemption through helping Danaerys take the thrown, etc.. But it will probably be Tyrion, because on GoT, it's never too obvious to be good.

But he didn't break his oath. He served the Nights Watch until his death.

Quote:

Spoiler:

I suppose Bran's role now is to a) tell Jon who he is, and b) tell people how to destroy the White Walkers.

I'm not sure what purpose Sam even serves in the story now. They've let his storyline lag so far behind everything else, he hasn't even gotten through the book 4 material.

Spoiler:

My guess is that Bran will tell Jon the truth about his parents, and will lead the fight against the White Walkers (if he ever learns to fly). But something will go wrong and he will die in the attempt, maybe. Then, Sam will find something in the library that tells everyone how to defeat the White Walkers for good.

I'm pretty sure that any HR department would side with Jon - "So they were willing to stab you to death to get rid of you, but now that you miraculously have a pulse again, they're saying you can't leave?"

Again, haven't seen the season and I'm guessing it was addressed in some way. Probably. And also aware that Westeros hasn't invented HR yet, which is probably good, because that job would suck.

Spoiler:

Anyway, more random thoughts about the whole Lyanna/Rhaegar debacle.

Did he kidnap her, or was she with him voluntarily? The people who knew Rhaegar maintain that he was a decent guy. If she was with him voluntarily, why didn't she send word to her family? Considering that her father and brother died trying to save her - she couldn't have known Aerys was going to kill them, but she had to have known that they would act and there would be serious consequences.

Ned Stark maintained that only he and Howland Reed know what happened during the rescue attempt. There had to be guards and servants and whatnot who knew Lyanna was pregnant, yet apparently no one ever said 'Hey, what happened to the baby?'. No speculation at all around the subject. Why? Were they all dead? If so, who killed them, and were they killed to cover up what they knew?

I'm particularly enjoying The Hound's story of redemption. I also loved the scene where he was staring into the flames.

It looks like Euron will be the villain we love to hate, now that Ramsay is gone.

Was Jamie standing next to Cersei as the Lord Commander of the Queensgard? Or in some other capacity?

I felt a great deal of dread when Arya met the Lannister soldiers. I hope she gets away from them. I really hoped that, after dealing with the Freys, she would head North and reunite with Jon and Sansa.

Jon should get the news about Bran from Dolorous Edd next week. They should reunite soon.

I'm happy to see Arya turn north, but looks like Jon won't be there when she arrives. Still, we'll see a Sansa/Arya reunion soon, and who knows how that will turn out?

I enjoyed the Arya/Nymeria reunion, and I'm not really surprised to see Nymeria turn away from Arya. But, did she do so because she could never be Arya's pet any longer, or because Arya isn't the same person?

Enjoyed the sea battle, and I don't mind that 2 of the Sand Snakes are gone. Was Yara one of the people hanging from the prow?

Disappointed in Theon. But, it appears that Reek never truly went away.

Why no letter from the Wall to Jon Snow indicating that Bran had turned up?

I like Daenerys's military plan to take Westeros. Unexpected. I like the Alliances that are forming, the details unfolding. This is a moment we've been waiting a long time to see*, and now that it's happening, I like how they are drawing it out with necessary steps that were difficult to foresee, but seem natural in hindsight. It was easier to imagine that Daenerys would simply storm King's Landing and seize Westeros without much resistance. But that wouldn't have made much of a story--a point the writers seemed to have noticed, since they spent a lot of time this episode explaining why that couldn't happen, even having the characters make exactly these points as they debate the topic. I like how the writers are building suspense and conflict, making it hard on Daenerys so that she's not simply invincible. The sea battle helped a lot with that. Just when we think that Cersei has played all her cards she still clings to power and proves to be formidable.

This story can't be as simple as Cersei being defeated and Westeros uniting to fight the Army of the Dead armed with Dragonglass weapons and three dragons (plus a Jon and Daenerys marriage, of course). It can't be that easy and predictable.

*[Edit: the opening sequence with the map showing only one continent really drives this point home: all the characters are in one "world" now. The whole story is in Westeros from now on. Wow.]_________________Meaning is created internally by each individual in each specific life: any attempt at *meaning* which relies on some kind of external superstructure (God, Satan, the Creator, the Worm, whatever) for its substance misses the point (I mean the point of my story). -SRD

Remain faithful to the earth, my brothers, with the power of your virtue. Let your gift-giving love and your knowledge serve the meaning of the earth ... Do not let them fly away from earthly things and beat with their wings against eternal walls. Alas, there has always been so much virtue that has flown away. Lead back to the earth the virtue that flew away, as I do–back to the body, back to life, that it may give the earth a meaning, a human meaning. -Nietzsche

I'm happy to see Arya turn north, but looks like Jon won't be there when she arrives. Still, we'll see a Sansa/Arya reunion soon, and who knows how that will turn out?

I enjoyed the Arya/Nymeria reunion, and I'm not really surprised to see Nymeria turn away from Arya. But, did she do so because she could never be Arya's pet any longer, or because Arya isn't the same person?

Enjoyed the sea battle, and I don't mind that 2 of the Sand Snakes are gone. Was Yara one of the people hanging from the prow?

Disappointed in Theon. But, it appears that Reek never truly went away.

Why no letter from the Wall to Jon Snow indicating that Bran had turned up?

In response to your last question, i am guessing that either he didn't want it known, or perhaps Ed was protecting Jon. While Bran is useless in this situation as a heroic leader, nothing could split the North easier than setting a trueborn Stark against a Bastard and/or Sansa (especially one who was wed to both a Lannister and a Bolton). And as his use is not military/strategic, but plays another game, it may be easier for him to establish himself at the wall, depending on the arc of his character and what role he has to play against the White Walkers and proximity to the spells in the wall and their importance._________________Proud father of G-minor and the Bean

I am very happy with how season 7 has begun and, as always with GOT, I am very disappointed when each episode ends as I am fully engaged and am quite hungry for more. There will be no mad rush to the conclusion of the series however I am becoming more and more aware as the story unfolds that the end nigh.

What, if anything, will take GOT's place when it has concluded?_________________

Quote:

"I do not think with my brain. He who thinks with his brain has forgotten the face of his father. I think with my gallbladder."

All the damn spin-offs, is what will take its place. But I wonder if they will go the way of the Battlestar Galactica spin-offs.

I'm enjoying it so far, and I don't want to be THAT guy, but it's feeling a bit more hollow and rushed than it has. I don't know if it is because they are doing stuff that the author hasn't written or because of their self-imposed end date, but it really is feeling like the last few seasons of Lost did when they also did a self-imposed end date. Let's just hope there's not a writer's strike. Everything on screen has a purpose because they don't have time to mess about anymore, and it all just feels like they are giving the payoff for stuff set up in past seasons as quickly as possible. I hope I can shake that feeling, as I'm not liking it as much as I want to. I noticed a bit last season as well, particularly the first episode when they seemed to kill off a lot of loose end characters right away. We'll see. The action is definitely fun to watch, and I suspect as that takes front and center, I'll drop my concerns._________________
Life is a waste of time
Time is a waste of life
So get wasted all of the time
And you'll have the time of your life

I like where its going._________________"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Again, the administration intentionally hoodwinks us by framing the debate as about fighting terrorism and not about withdrawing the rights granted us by the Constitution." - Unattributed under duress
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Island of Baroque Weirdos

I think that every season of GoT starts out this way, doesn't it? Catching us up with everyone before really taking off?

The last couple seasons of Lost didn't suck. Season 5 was the pinnacle of that show. I've gone back and rewatched the whole thing this year, and season 6 didn't bug me as much, after I already knew where it was going and lowered my expectations. (However, the very same things that bugged me the first time were still problematic. The island has a fucking cork??? Old Smokey is defeated with a gun??? The Sideways world is a season-wasting illusion with no other purpose than emotional reunions? It really does end with a kind of purgatory, despite the writers saying explicitly that it does not?)_________________Meaning is created internally by each individual in each specific life: any attempt at *meaning* which relies on some kind of external superstructure (God, Satan, the Creator, the Worm, whatever) for its substance misses the point (I mean the point of my story). -SRD

Remain faithful to the earth, my brothers, with the power of your virtue. Let your gift-giving love and your knowledge serve the meaning of the earth ... Do not let them fly away from earthly things and beat with their wings against eternal walls. Alas, there has always been so much virtue that has flown away. Lead back to the earth the virtue that flew away, as I do–back to the body, back to life, that it may give the earth a meaning, a human meaning. -Nietzsche

I never saw it so I can't weigh in, but I was talking as far as success. Seems like none of them did more than a season or two, which was a pity, and when I finally was able to watch all of the main series, most if not all of the spin-offs were cancelled by that time, so I didn't want to invest to be pissed that they cancelled it.
And as far as Lost is concerned, what I was getting at was that it felt a lot more hollow and rushed. They didn't take the time like they did in the first few seasons for the human moments as much that made the first few seasons exceptional TV at the time instead of just merely good. They still had some moments here and there, and I can't remember anything right off the top of my head except for maybe a scene between Ben and Hurley sharing a candy bar or something.
With that said, last week rubbed that pleasure spot for me, particularly the bits between Tyrion and Jon Snow. But also Tyrell. I hope the rest of the season feels more like this week and not so rushy._________________
Life is a waste of time
Time is a waste of life
So get wasted all of the time
And you'll have the time of your life

With that said, last week rubbed that pleasure spot for me, particularly the bits between Tyrion and Jon Snow. But also Tyrell. I hope the rest of the season feels more like this week and not so rushy.

I thought this was the best episode so far this season. I loved the Tyrion/Jon moments, too. Even more, I thought the first meeting of Jon and Daenerys was epic. However, I thought it also had the fastest pace so far. We saw both Casterly Rock and Highgarden fall in one episode. Bran was reunited with his family after 6 seasons. Jon met his future wife. Jaime found out who killed his son. Cersei got revenge for her daughter's death. I can't remember another single episode with so many huge moments._________________Meaning is created internally by each individual in each specific life: any attempt at *meaning* which relies on some kind of external superstructure (God, Satan, the Creator, the Worm, whatever) for its substance misses the point (I mean the point of my story). -SRD

Remain faithful to the earth, my brothers, with the power of your virtue. Let your gift-giving love and your knowledge serve the meaning of the earth ... Do not let them fly away from earthly things and beat with their wings against eternal walls. Alas, there has always been so much virtue that has flown away. Lead back to the earth the virtue that flew away, as I do–back to the body, back to life, that it may give the earth a meaning, a human meaning. -Nietzsche